State Testing Vocabulary Idea {Freebie}

Happy Wednesday!

We've been slowly unpacking from our family beach vacation and I figured I needed to share something that worked very well for me last school year.  It's called Word Rock and it's from Lady Bug's Teacher Files.  I found it on her site and printed out the complete file.  Below are the steps I took to implement her clever idea in my own classroom.

Binder available for student use any time

A completed Word Rock form 

A list of direction vocabulary found on our state tests.

1. I used the colored boom box sheet and placed it inside a binder for student access.  
2. I copied several sheets of the black and white boom box for the binder.  
3. I downloaded several Kidz Bop versions of popular songs I knew my students would like (i.e. party rock anthem, what does the fox say, moves like jagger, etc).  
4. I filled in the information on the black/white boom box sheets using state testing vocabulary words often found in directions.
5. On a Monday, I introduce one of the words to my class by playing a Kidz Bop song for about 10 seconds. 
6. I slowly turn down the music on my SMART board and introduce the track of the day.  On Day 1 I read the information in a fun upbeat way while displaying it from my document camera.  Days 2-3 I call on students to give me the information in their own words (without displaying the information on the sheet).  I introduce and practice 2 words a week.  Once I get to 5 words I do a review of each of the words (1 a day before introducing any new words).
7. When we've practiced the new "track" for the 3 days, I put it in the binder (referenced in step 1) for the children to access whenever they would like.  

It's been a blessing and a fun/quick way to cover important "direction vocabulary" students will encounter on the state tests.  I hope you can find a use for the free resource as well!  Until next time...